Wingless Bird
by DespondentLittleLight
Summary: Chaos reigns in the Reikai Tantei’s lives—mysterious disapearances, shifty newcomers, and disconcerting realizations and revelations. It’s unsettling everyone, it seems...except for Hiei.
1. Downward Spiral

**Wingless Bird**

**Writers' Notes:** The skaboss and WyndiWingfall are co-writing this. We switch turns after every chapter; this probably means I'll be (WyndiWingfall) writing the odd-numbered chapters and the skaboss will be writing the even.

Reviews are appreciated; so is criticism. I can't say the same for flames, however.

**Disclaimer:** We don't own Yu Yu Hakusho.

**Chapter One: Downward Spiral**

Chilly wind danced through the green leaves of nearby trees, rustling and spinning songs of fairies in the evening. The sky, a pale gray, seeped into everyone's hearts and warned them of the approach of fall and the harvest. The air was quiet and still, save for the animals' cries.

Birds screeched and chirped as they wheeled through the sky, battling the fierce winds that threatened to wipe them out. Their songs rang with despair as they struggled against the elements which never tired; one by one, droplets of crimson blood and soft, downy feathers spiraled and drifted off to the earth.

_Help us!_ the animals seemed to cry as they plunged into night. But the humans who separated themselves from such beauty and peace of nature were oblivious to their plight.

And so they fell, despair consuming them.

-:-

The quiet but joyful laughter of a certain ice maiden echoed softly through the temple's courtyard. The tranquil silence of another dawn accompanied her beautiful voice calling out to the creatures of flight that she now fed; with a light movement, birdseed was scattered into the air as birds pecked away at it.

Yukina smiled; feeding the animals that came to her was one of the joys in her life. With another _whoosh_, seed dropped from between her fingers, nourishment for the little feathery birds. The Koorime's scarlet, gentle eyes shone with undiluted happiness.

Strands of her mint-green hair wove themselves into the sunrise's winds. The melodies of early morning rang in the air like golden music of the gods themselves. Yukina laughed again as the birds chorused simple tunes, wanting more food.

In the topmost sturdy limb of a nearby tree, her brother watched, his small black form but a blur in the dawn's piercing rays. The emotionless bloodred eyes, the unique shape of his spiky hairdo, and the movements of a black cloak were the only signs that anyone was there.

The fire apparition watched as Yukina hummed a sweet tune and continued to feed the birds that were now chirping noisily and cheerfully. Hiei noticed the subtle smile; the warm, welcoming glitter in the once-solemn ruby eyes.

From within the temple, the psychic Genkai stepped out. The pink-haired master smiled at the ice maiden's innocence—it was very rare to find a demon that was—or at least, _seemed—_untainted by the blood of murders.

Genkai looked up at the trees, her observing brown eyes staring straight at the Jaganshi that was hidden there. "You can come down now, Hiei; there's nothing to hide from. And Yukina will want to see you."

With a slight scowl twisting his features, the fire demon leapt down gracefully. The light _swish_ of the cloak as he landed alerted his sister of his arrival.

"Hello, Hiei," the Koorime greeted; Hiei nodded in response.

Little songbirds clustered mainly around the girl, but a few found the male's hair a pleasant resting spot. There was no doubt that the fire apparition would've burned the creatures to a crisp—yum, bird flambé—had Yukina not been watching.

Instead of turning himself into an oven, Hiei merely stood still while Yukina laughed as the birds flew into her cupped, outstretched hands.

"Hn."

The "conversation" was interrupted by a certain perky, blue-haired ferry girl and her oar. At her arrival, Genkai entered her temple; cheerfulness usually didn't help headaches much, last time she checked— which was basically never.

"Hiei! Yukina!" Botan jumped off her oar, trying to suppress a yawn. "Have you seen the others? I can't find them anywhere and I've been searching all of Tokyo for an hour now."

Yukina shook her head, a worried frown appearing on her face. "Aren't they at home? After all, it's still quite early."

"No, they weren't in bed or anything. Not even Yusuke, and he sleeps in a _lot_." Botan sighed wearily, using her oar as a support as she stood. "This doesn't help things much…although Koenma said something about them on another case." She looked towards the Jaganshi curiously and murmured, "But he would've sent you along, right?"

"Hn, I don't know. Koenma and I aren't the best of _friends_," retorted Hiei, pronouncing the last word with utmost scorn.

He was cut off from further, "less discreet" insults by Botan suddenly looking towards the sky and Yukina's "What's the matter, Botan?"

For Botan's eyes had widened alarmingly, and now she looked so shocked that it almost seemed comical— not to mention cheesily dramatic. Her gaze still skyward, she gripped her oar fiercely as if she was about to collapse. "Oh, no…._Please_ don't tell me that _that_ happened…" the ferry girl pleaded quietly to herself, finally looking down at her hands with tears filling her violet eyes. _"Please…."_

Not knowing what to do, the siblings watched on, Yukina offering what comfort she could provide when the two apparitions were oblivious to the source of Botan's distress.

But their questions were soon answered.

Hiei's and Yukina's blood went ice-cold as they sensed three auras disappearing forever from the earth. And they weren't just any three random auras, to be sure.


	2. Let's See if We Can Fix Everything

**Wingless Bird  
**A Collaboration between HateBecomesYou & BlueWater26

**Author's Notes: **Jesus, my finger hurts like bitch. Burnt it on the stove. Big ass lump all along my thumb, on the nerve endings... I'm not very happy. Sorry to say, the chapter might reflect that with bad quality... And it'll be short, because I've found that is excruciatingly hard to type with one hand (I don't use all of my fingers either, so...).

**Disclaimer: -**loud sobs- I think you all know that... -sniff- We don't own Yu Yu Hakusho... Damn you, Yoshihiro Togashi, damn you!

**Chapter Two:  
Let's See If We Can Fix Everything**

Silence reigned supreme over the darkly wooded forest, as if the entities of the world were mourning. No longer singing, the birds hid among the brush and sparse limbs branching out from the trees. There were pitiful chirps at best, scattered through the woods that surrounded the lone temple.

Crouched on the steps - awkwardly thanks to their movement-restricting kimono - were the two young women, one with puffy, red-rimmed eyes and the other biting her lip and trying to comfort and be reassuring.

"Don't worry, Botan, it's probably just that mission Koenma told you about. I'm sure nothing could really happen to them. After all, they're very competent with their cases."

"You're... You're probably right. Heh, I dunno what I was getting all worked up about." Botan gave a bleary, unsure smile and absently rubbed at her eyes.

"See? You just have to use your head!" Yukina smiled, though it was a few watts lower than it had been earlier in the day.

"Yeah... Thank you." Botan wiped at her nose with one long pink sleeve. "But... Maybe I should go talk to Koenma. I'm sure he would explain this to me... I just wonder why he didn't tell me that this was going to happen. I think that's what has me worried the most."

"I doubt Koenma would send them into anything terribly life-threatening without informing them of it all the circumstances, Botan. He's very responsible. But, if you'd like, maybe we should both go and talk to him." Yukina smiled at Botan's grateful look, patting the ferry girl on the shoulder.

"Hiei, don't you think that would be a good idea?" Yukina continued, prodding at her brother with a meaningful look. He merely responded with a grunt, shifting from one foot to the other at his position leaning against a nearby tree. "Would you like to leave now?"

Botan gave a small nod. Yukina brightened and hopped to her feet, blue kimono flaring out about her ankles. She helped the ferry-girl to her feet, patting her hand and still radiating with a calm, smooth aura.

"Oh, but wait!" Botan exclaimed, glancing back at the temple, "What about Genkai?"

"I'm surprised the old woman hasn't noticed everyone's absence. Losing her touch?" Hiei scoffed, crossing his arms and preferring to stare up at the sky than at the pair of girls.

"That's really strange," Botan bit her lip, "I'll be right back, I'm going to find Genkai and tell her we'll be leaving."

Botan turned on her heel and started to walk across the courtyard, birds scattering and fluttering along the ground, giving indignant cries. As soon as she disappeared, Yukina turned to her brother.

"Hiei?" Her voice seemed indefinite, quiet and lost in the sea of trees enveloping them.

"Hn," Hiei acknowledged, monotone and emotionless. His face, however, seemed to have softened by the girl's unsure tone.

"Do you think that everyone is okay?"

"They'll be fine. Urameshi is resourceful enough, even with the dope along with him," Yukina frowned at Kuwabara's demeaning nickname, "And you know how the fox is."

Yukina nodded, easily reassured by the fire demon's words. She watched the birds twirling through the sky, focusing in on a pair of white-grey ones. They spiraled together, always intertwined; the perfect duo as they dived to the earth and back towards the blaring yellow-white sun. It warmed the young maiden's heart.

The pitter-patter of wooden geta caught the sibling's attentions, and they both looked up to see Botan hurrying towards them. She was obviously distressed, wringing her hands and trying to run despite the confines of her clothing.

"Yukina, Hiei, I can't find her!" Botan cried, reaching the edge of the steps.

"But her signature is here... I can feel it," Yukina mused, moving to stand at Botan's side.

"You couldn't even find the old hag? Cheh... Incompetent woman." With those words, Hiei evanesced and his black silhouette flitted towards the entryway of the temple. After a short moments time, the fire demon was back, a sour look upon his face. He remained silent, even after the two girls stared at him imploringly.

"Well?" Botan asked, impatient with anxiety. An irritated look crossed Hiei's face and he glared back at her.

"Weren't you going back to Reikai?" Hiei questioned moodily. "Hurry up. Go talk with Koenma."

Before Botan could give him a few smug comments about the absence of Genkai, Yukina interrupted, "Yes, Botan, can you fly us to Reikai?"

Easily distracted, Botan nodded, holding out her palm as a long wooden oar materialized. It floated before her and she hopped on, proffering for Yukina to do the same.

As soon as the pair were seated comfortably, Yukina called out, "We'll be back soon, okay?"

Hiei scowled and vanished once more while the two girls gradually ascended and flew off into the shimmering blue sky.

Yukina and Botan were quick to enter the modernized halls of the castle, making their way to Koenma's office. It was slightly unsettling how quiet it was, but the couple ignored it, instead conferring quietly with each other.

It wasn't long before they reached the sleek monochrome door that opened to Koenma's rooms. Botan took the lead, knocking quickly. After a moment of unresponsiveness, she slipped inside, the ice maiden following her queue.

There were no longer hordes of ogres rushing around the office, nor the shouting that usually accompanied them. Botan walked towards the barren desk, strangely devoid of papers.

"Koenma, sir?" Botan called out hesitantly.

Nothing.Yukina swiveled around, glancing throughout the room. It was completely empty.

Author's Notes: This chapter was written by HateBecomesYou. Isn't it great? (This is BlueWater26, so you know.) I corrected a few mistakes in the first chapter regarding the timeline.


	3. Bloodstained Claws

**Wingless Bird**

A collaboration between HateBecomesYou and BlueWater26.

**Writers' Notes:** BlueWater26 here! I'm sorry for the inexcusably late update, but you all know how school life is like, right? Utter chaos and all that….But I have a three-day weekend, so here goes.

**Disclaimer:** We don't own Yu Yu Hakusho, as much as we'd like to. You know the routine.

**Chapter Three: Bloodstained Claws**

"What the fuck?" Hiei cursed as his sister and the perky ferry girl filled him in on the emptiness of Spirit World. Yukina winced slightly at the profanity, while Botan shook it off as part of the Jaganshi's manner.

"It's true," the blue-haired woman said despondently. "The entire office was empty, like it was…deserted or abandoned. All of Koenma's paperwork was gone too."

"Hiei, do you know what might have happened to them?" Yukina asked her brother, thinking of all those who had so mysteriously disappeared.

The fire demon lifted his head. Looking at Botan, he asked, "Are you sure the baby brat didn't tell you anything about this 'mission'?"

Botan nodded. "All he said was for me to bring the three to his office. After I dropped them off, I left to help Hinageshi, Ayame, and the other ferry girls to help ferry souls. And…they left, with Koenma saying they had a top-secret important mission."

"Hn," Hiei muttered, swearing slightly: an indication he was not pleased.

"I hope they're okay," murmured the ice maiden worriedly. She didn't need to add the words "especially Kazuma."

"Kurama, Yusuke, Master Genkai, and Kuwabara are certainly capable of facing anything," Botan started. "Koenma, though…" Her voice drifted off in notes of concern.

Hiei, Botan, and Yukina stood in solemn silence as the chilly wind picked up to tones of ice. It rustled their hair and clothing; all three with their serious faces took the increasingly stormy weather as a bad omen.

-:-

Unbeknownst to the group gathered in the psychic Genkai's courtyard, a small, brown-feathered bird with a sharp, intelligent eye observed them with utmost patience. It remained oblivious to the whipping leaves and nippy wind surrounding it, gray eyes fixed on the three people below. Now and then, it rustled its down feathers.

"Eda," a soft, birdlike voice called to the winged creature perched comfortably on a thick branch of a tree. "Eda, where are you? Eda!" The last syllable, full of commanding and power, brought the little brown bird towards the source of the voice.

On another tree limb stood a tall man, fair in features and grand in power. Dark brown hair with amber eyes added an intimidating outlook to the stranger. A mud-brown cloak with gray and forest-green trim swept around him and clung to his lean form.

With a graceful swoop, the little bird landed on his arm and proceeded to let out a series of tiny, shrill chirps that seemed to echo along the lines of a deed of spying for the man.

"Thank you, Eda," whispered the man as the bird lifted its wings and took flight again, in its rightful place among the dreary skies.

-:-

"The only conclusion I can think of is that Koenma was possessed or a traitor to send the three to their doom," Botan said as she, Yukina, and Hiei were clustered in a room of Genkai's temple.

"Hn. Unlikely," Hiei muttered. "He always has _us_ do the dirty work like we're another four of his ogres."

"Um, shouldn't we tell Shizuru and Keiko? They'll want to know where…where…"

"You're right, Yukina." Botan wiped her red-rimmed violet eyes with her pink sleeves. "Come on," she added, flicking her wrist and materializing her trusty oar. "Coming, Hiei?"

Hiei glanced with scorn at the oar. "Hn, I'll run."

-:-

"Shizuru, did you see Yusuke anywhere this morning?" a brunette by the name of Keiko Yukimura asked. Shizuru Kuwabara shook her head, cigarette smoke wafting about as she did so.

"Kazuma left with Botan his morning, but he didn't tell me where he went."

"Oh, I hope Yusuke's okay," Keiko murmured, worry in her voice.

"Don't worry, the boys are perfectly capable of taking care of themselves…except for my little bro."

"Keiko! Shizuru!" a familiar female voice sounded from behind the two companions.

The brunettes turned to see the perky ferry girl, a grumpy fire apparition, and a sad-looking ice maiden running towards them.

"Botan, Hiei, Yukina, what are you doing here?" Keiko inquired, perplexed.

"Hiei, aren't you supposed to be on the mission with the rest of the boys?" Shizuru questioned.

Botan cut into their inquiries, murmuring, "We have a lot to tell you about."

-:-

"That's horrible," Keiko gasped, her hands covering her mouth and eyes brimming with tears. "So…everyone's missing…and…and Yusuke…he might be…be…?" She was almost begging them not to say it.

"Dead," supplied Hiei dully.

Shizuru and Yukina were silent, both thinking of a certain orange-haired boy.

Botan bit her lip. "I guess…all we can do now…is hope for the best and that they'll pull through on their own."

_Flitter, flitter, flitter, chirp._ A small brown bird spiraled into the room dismally, wings drooping. It seemed unharmed, but Yukina picked it up and tried to comfort it.

Botan let out an audible gasp. Red eyes and brown flicked towards her, three pairs out of four edged with concern.

"One of the souls I ferried…from Russia…said that…he predicted the day of his death," Botan explained, hands twisted with worry. Although the others could see no relevance to the situation at hand, they remained silent. "He said that when a bird flies into a room, it is an omen…of death."

The words hung in the air, echoing in everyone's stunned ears.

**Writers' Notes:** Like I said, short and snappy. I'm sorry if you hated it, but I have writer's block.


	4. With Your Eyes Full of Roses

**Wingless Bird  
**A Collaboration between HateBecomesYou & BlueWater26

**Author's Notes:** Wow, what a leave of absence, eh? This is HateBecomesYou, by the way. Well, here's the next chapter, in any case, and roughly 1,000 words. My last chapter was way less than that, so, at least, this is an improvement (and I'm advancing the plot, kind of, yay!)...

**Disclaimer:** Yu Yu Hakusho, its characters, plots, and any other related objects belong to Yoshihiro Togashi and his affiliates. Damn.

**Chapter Four:  
****With Your Eyes Full of Roses**

When 063s6 opened her eyes, the first thing she noticed was the liquid pushing in on her on all sides. With half-lidded eyes, she swiveled her head around to survey the room, but could barely see beyond a thick, murky glass casing that curved over her head and into a sphere. She lifted a pale, limp hand and swirled a finger over the greenish surface. The light reflected inward and gave everything around her the same prismic, emerald color.

On her face, the girl finally noticed, was a mask type of thing. It covered her nose and mouth and a thick, heavy-duty tube spiraled downwards from the center of the mask to the floor. It connected to something outside, she guessed, and it was keeping her alive. Her fingers itched to rip the mask off, but she refrained. The thing reminded her of her state of nakedness.

From what she could make out beyond her own prison, there were at least a dozen more tubes, just like hers, all bunched together and forming an irregular circle. She rubbed at the side, attempting to clear it a bit, but to no avail. She couldn't see what the other cases contained.

A sharp clicking alerted the girl of another's presence, and she looked up through the foggy glass to see a brown-black figure approaching the identical glass tombs that surrounded her. She shivered involuntarily at the sheer ominous force he gave off. It washed over her, like tiny pulses in the back of her head, and the liquid quivered slightly in the glass tubing.

The man stopped in front of her, or in the vague direction of her, and she felt a wave of anxiety shake her frail body. She retreated to the back of the curling tube, but could barely move further than a foot away from her original place due to a strange tugging on her right ankle. The girl glanced down to see it tethered to the floor.

A whispery sound entered her mind, and her eyes closed of their own volition. She was barely aware of strange gargling noises before she slipped into darkness.

-:-

"We can't just sit here!"

Botan, Keiko, and Yukina all looked up in unison as Shizuru began pacing the room, lighting a cigarette with faintly trembling fingers. The remaining girls glanced at each other, not quite sure what to do or say to put themselves at ease. Botan bit her lip and took the initiative. The ferry girl stood up from her seat on a low, flat cushion and grabbed Shizuru's arm until she finally relented and stopped her movement.

"I'm afraid there's not much else we can do. None of us have any idea where they could be..." Botan trailed off at the bitter look on the other woman's face.

Hiei snorted at their panicked antics. He had been lounging on a windowsill for the greater part of an hour and had rarely conversed with anyone- not that that was quite out of character of him. He seemed content on letting the others worry about his fellow teammates.

"Hiei-san!"

Said demon lazily looked upwards as Yukina jumped to her feet and quickly strode towards him.

"Did Koenma say anything to you? About the mission?" The anxious ice maiden questioned, twisting her pale fingertips into the folds of her kimono.

"Yeah, and why didn't you go, anyway?" Shizuru asked, a suspicious look already in place.

"Hn. It was just a simple mission to capture some demon who had begun to spawn some sort of bloodthirsty children. It was pointless for me to even attend, likewise for the fox, and Yusuke had agreed to go by himself- unless you even want to count that stupid invalid always following him around as a person."

"Hey! Don't-"

Shizuru's outbursts to defend her brother were cut off by a sudden shrill, pinging noise. It started off extremely loud before reverberated softly throughout the room. Then it rose in pitch and started the process over again.

"What's that noise?" Keiko asked, raising her voice to be heard above the quick shrieking sounds.

Botan looked stricken before replying, "It means that someone has tripped the wards around the temple. And, judging by the frequency and tempo, it's someone with immense power."

No one even noticed when Hiei disappeared from the room in a thin black blur.

-:-

When 036s6 woke up, she could barely remember the brief moments of consciousness that had occurred in the glass bubble, but it was still lingering in the back of her mind. When she opened her eyes into narrow slits to peer around at her surroundings, she was surprised at the sharp yellow light coming from directly above her. With it's glare, she couldn't see anything else in the room except the cold silver table she lay upon.

Glancing around at her body, she was as devoid of clothing as before, but this time a thin white sheet had been draped across her. After a few moments of paralysis, she tugged her wrists and legs, only to find she could not move. She was strapped to the platform with a rough feeling cloth that bit at her limbs.

That same ghosting noise entered her mind and she did her best to investigate it. But the irritating whisper was very much the last thing on her mind when the darkened silhouette of a person - a man - appeared above her.

"Awake, then?"

The words all merged together as they reached her ears, and she could do nothing but stare up at him helplessly, not comprehending whatsoever. Goosebumps rose on her cold, still wet skin, and the man chuckled. That dark, hard sound was something she could understand, however- and something she desperately wanted to get away from.

"Don't be frightened," he whispered, and although in a way that was meant to be comforting, it did not do anything to calm the girl.

It was not long before 063s6 began to struggle, and the man smirked and laughed once more. She felt a pinprick on her wrist before she, once again, blacked out.

**Author's Notes: **So... uh. Yeah.


	5. Stuck in a Pickle

**Wingless Bird**

A collaboration between HateBecomesYou and BlueWater26

**Writer's Notes:** BlueWater26 again. Still desperately trying to _think_ for once and not sound like a complete idiot while doing so. Blame school.

**Disclaimer:** Don't we wish we could own Yu Yu Hakusho. Our lifelong dream, I tell ya.

**Chapter Five: Stuck in a Pickle**

063s6 was not in her best mood when she woke up. She was scared, certainly, and lost and confused. Her mind was unfocused, her vision unhealthily blurry, but she did her best to observe. The yellow light was still there, hanging over her, with its sickening shade of brightness--in fact, it seemed like the surroundings hadn't changed at all.

"Up, I see," said the voice that was now frighteningly familiar. "You'll find that you can move now without too much trouble. And you have human clothing on."

063s6 glanced down at herself, finding a strange garment of dark material clinging to her now dry skin: a dress, but she had no way of knowing for certain.

"Where…where am…I?" Her voice was hoarse and stammering from lack of use, her tongue floppy.

"Nowhere of your concern." The reply was light and seemingly uncaring. "Don't worry about such things."

The man moved farther away from her and leaned over three prisons similar to the one she had been in before. Shivering with cold, she slipped off the cold table and winced as the frigid metal touched her skin.

"Wha…" 063s6 tried again. "What…what are they?" The words came slowly, one by one as if each was a struggle. "An'…who…are…are you?"

"Ah." The man looked faintly pleased and amused that 063s6 has asked such a question. "They're none of your business…only a few new…_toys_ of mine."

For some reason, 063s6 didn't like how he accented "toys."

"As for my name, I have none….But 'master' will do as well as any." He turned to something--a small, feathery, alive _something_--and said, "Eda, get her some food and water."

With a mad flutter of wings and a few obedient chirps, 063s6 realized that Eda was a bird.

Once again, the dark silence settled gloomily over the two, and 063s6's curiosity grew. "Master" poked a few fingers at the things inside the green casing and the tubes, now and then muttering something with a satisfied smirk.

Eda came back from who knew where, holding a small leather pouch in her beak. From within it, Master withdrew a few strips of dark brown and tossed it with particularly good aim at 063s6.

Instinctively she reached out and caught it. The texture of it was slightly rough and it smeared salt crystals over her cold hands.

"Salted meat," Master answered before she could ask. "Substandard fare."

And that showed 063s6 what Master's opinion of her was, along with the badly-hewn wooden bowl of water that came next.

-:-

"Hiei!" Botan gasped as she scrambled outside, trying not to stumble on the steps. "Who is…" Her voice faded away as her eyes took in the situation. Behind her came the audible sounds of fear emitted by Keiko and Yukina as they nearly crashed into her in their urgency to see.

"How ugly," remarked Shizuru calmly, cigarette still puffing out smoke. "What a waste of space."

In front of the gate that was now hanging haphazardly on its hinges was a giant white-skinned demon with three sharp horns that glinted in the light. Its black eyes shone with the furious intent of killing, and it swiped at a swift black blue with a heavy claw.

Hiei glared at the near miss and snorted. "Pathetic." He drew his sword in one smooth motion as the demon lumbered forward--quickly, if clumsily. "Fortunately, I can't kill you now….We need you for questioning as to how you found this place."

No answer but a few gurgles of unintelligible speech.

"Erm, what's he saying?" Keiko asked blankly.

"I think he's telling Hiei the exact way to kill him," Shizuru suggested.

"Is he really?" Yukina queried innocently.

The other three girls sweat-dropped. "No," Botan finally said.

There was a slight spurt of blood as Hiei placed his blade against the demon's throat. "Now tell me," the fire demon snarled.

The white demon shook its head frantically. It pressed its claws to its heart and dug into the cavity, tearing into the organ without hesitation.

"Damn." Hiei released the demon with disgust. "I should've guessed." He turned away as the demon vanished into a flurry of crow's feathers.

Yukina stared at the jet-black down for a moment, then followed the group back within the safety of the temple.

-:-

Master loomed over the green compartments, speaking to himself. 063s6 had taken to stretching her new muscles, though her mind was filled only with suspicion. What was she doing here in this dark forsaken place that resembled a mess-up lab?

Her legs, stiff and numb, bent reluctantly as she gripped nearly things for support--tubes, the wall, random handles. Master watched her with an eagle's eye, Eda perched on his shoulder and giving out several chirps.

"A few more injections should do the trick." Muttering, Master withdrew a few silver syringes from a nearby shelf and clicked them. The needle tips glinted silver in the light. With a swift movement, they were plunged into whatever-they-were.

063s6's curiosity had not dwindled. Now she tried to peer over at the casings, wondering…until her mind ceased to dwell upon such mysteries.

"Curious?" asked Master. It was one of the few words he has said to 063s6 all day.

063s6 managed to nod her head, out of shock more than anything.

"You'll find out soon. After all, they _are_ pretty famous amongst demons."

"De…mons?" 063s6 stumbled over the strange word.

"Yes, what did you think _I_ was, a stupid, coddled _human_?" He practically threw the word out in contempt.

"Erm…" For that, 063s6 had no answer. She had never even _thought_ about what Master was…but now she was open to ponder. "Demons…demons…really exist?" Her mind was foggy.

"Obviously," scoffed Master. "_I'm_ alive, am I not?"

No comeback, no reply. "Are _they_…demons?" 063s6 pointed at the prisons.

"One of them" was Master's cryptic response. "Now…" He snapped his fingers, and 063s6 suddenly slumped to the ground, off to the shores of sleep.

**Author's Notes:** Um…bye?


End file.
